Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner

Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner

Can you recall the last time you heard someone use the term “sodomite” in ordinary conversation? Probably not.

That term and the term “sodomy” have virtually disappeared from the American lexicon. Along with the words, any remembrance of their origin in the biblical account of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is quickly disappearing as well.

Although some homosexual apologists claim that the great sin of Sodom was “inhospitality,” as Dr. D. James Kennedy explains in his sermon, “Entertaining Angels Unawares,” that is far from the case. Yes, the men of Sodom wanted to “know” the strangers whom Lot was sheltering in his home. But they wanted to have carnal knowledge, intimate sexual knowledge of these men, who were really angels sent by the Lord to warn Lot of the city’s impending destruction.

According to the Bible, there was an “outcry” to the Lord because of the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah. As the Lord told Abraham, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grace, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me: and if not I will know” (Genesis 18:20-21).

When the angels arrived in Sodom, the actions of the men of the city, “both old and young,” confirmed the reasons for the outcry against it.

Prior to 1962, sodomy was a felony in every state in the union. But by 2003, only 13 still had such laws on their books. These were finally swept away as well when the Supreme Court struck down the Texas anti-sodomy law in its 6-3 decision, Lawrence v. Texas.

This decision was a stunning reversal of the Court’s earlier proclamation in Bowers v. Hardwick that “in constitutional terms there is no such thing as a fundamental right to commit homosexual sodomy.”

Decisions of individuals relating to homosexual conduct have been subject to state intervention throughout the history of Western civilization. ... Condemnation of those practices is firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian moral and ethical standards. … [Sir William] Blackstone described ‘the infamous crime against nature’ as an offense of “deeper malignity” than rape, a heinous act “the very mention of which is a disgrace to human nature” and “a crime not fit to be named.”

“To hold that the act of homosexual sodomy is somehow protected as a fundamental right,” Justice Burger averred, “would be to cast aside millennia of moral teaching.”

Yet less than twenty years later, with Lawrence v. Texas, the high court did that very thing, arguing that the Texas law “demeans the lives of homosexual persons.” Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony Kennedy hewed to the homosexual argument stating that “The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime.”

The highest court of the land had succumbed to the false claim of homosexual activists that their sexual activity is identical with their human dignity. And anyone who would oppose their homosexual acts must, by their definition, also be denying their status as persons.

By equating their identity as a person with their sexual activity, homosexual activists argue that the only way for them to achieve human dignity and full “human rights” is for their sexual activity to be accepted — and not just accepted, but affirmed.

But Michael Brown, author of The Stealth Agenda, recently published by Truth in Action Ministries, points out, “The right to any sexual behavior, any sexual orientation, any sexual romantic desire — no, there is not a universal human right for that.”

Christianity has always found the worth of persons in the fact that all humans are made in the image of God, regardless of personal attributes. Thus we recognize the right to life of the unborn, and the value of the lives of the feeble-minded. This is also the basis for making the fundamental distinction between the individual and his or her behavior. The worst criminal can be forgiven for his actions through the blood of Jesus Christ.

As Dr. D. James Kennedy said in his sermon, “For 2,000 years it has been the Christian position that we are to love the sinner, but hate the sin, and I don’t hate homosexuals, nor can you. ... If we say we are the sons of God, a God who is a God of love, we can’t hate people.”

Dr. Kennedy further related, “I have known homosexuals that have come out of the homosexual lifestyle. I have known those that are struggling in their efforts to try to overcome it. I have known those who are in it and want to stay there. But I have prayed for them all, and so must we. These are people who are desperately in need of our prayers.”

For those who struggle with unwanted sexual attraction to members of the same sex, there are several organizations that offer hope and help. The Exodus Global Alliance states that its goals are to:

Proclaim that change is possible for the homosexual through the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

Equip Christians and churches to uphold the biblical view of sexuality but respond with compassion and grace to those affected by homosexuality.

Serve people affected by homosexuality through counseling, support groups and other services.

The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality states that it is “a professional, scientific organization that offers hope to those who struggle with unwanted homosexuality.” NARTH promotes effective therapeutic treatment, provides referrals to those who seek assistance, and disseminates educational information. The organization “upholds the rights of individuals with unwanted homosexual attraction to receive effective psychological care and the right of professionals to offer that care.”

Homosexual activists would try to force our society to accept their sexual activity as normal. Therefore they oppose any and all who offer hope for change to those who want to forsake those actions. We must not allow them to silence the proclamation of the good news that Jesus Christ offers hope for redemption and change to all sinners, regardless of their sin. When Jesus Christ arose from the dead, He not only broke the bands of death, He also broke the stranglehold that Satan, the author of death, had on the human race. And now, through the risen Savior we have the power to change — to live in “newness of life” as “new creatures” in Christ.

O the deep, deep love of Jesus, vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!

Rolling as a mighty ocean in its fullness over me!

Dr. Karen Gushta is research coordinator at Truth in Action Ministries, author of The War on Children, and co-author of Ten Truths About Socialism. As a career educator, Dr. Gushta has taught from kindergarten to graduate teacher education in both public and Christian schools in America and overseas. She has a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Education and Masters degrees in Elementary Education and Christianity and Culture.